


Princess of Thorns

by readinglikewildfire



Category: Sleeping Beauty (1959), Sleeping Beauty (Fairy Tale)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Depression, Evil Queen - Freeform, F/M, Fantasy, Love Story, Magic, Minor Original Character(s), Original Character(s), Original Story - Freeform, Original Universe, Original work - Freeform, Pining, Princes & Princesses, Sleeping Beauty Retelling, loosely based, self published, self written - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-05-15 06:11:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19289797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/readinglikewildfire/pseuds/readinglikewildfire
Summary: “I am the master of my fate:I am the captain of my soul.”-William Ernest HenleyA world poised on the brink of collapse and war looming over the heads of those who have already lost so much. The West, a land of twisted monsters and a cruel leader, pushing for more and more power.  Seeking more territory to add to their ever-growing empire, to strengthen their power. A broken princess with a violent array of magic and a traitor prince who wishes more than anything to be free could be the only hope to save their world.





	Princess of Thorns

**Author's Note:**

> This is my own story with my own characters, it was loosely inspired by Sleeping Beauty but you will see that the plot strays from that quite a bit. I started writing this in 2016 but took a pretty long break and now I am in the mood to start again and I think posting on here will inspire me to keep going. Please enjoy readings and leave a comment

Elena Aventine tugged her dark hood further over her dyed brown head despite the heat that was threatening to choke her as she hid in the shadows of the city. Carefully looking over her shoulder, she crossed the street. Not too many people were out at this time of night, the markets had already closed and pedestrians had already left the street and headed home. 

She heard a loud booming laugh and saw two drunken men leaning on each other as one of them fell while exiting the market corner tavern. She looked away, that was not where she needed to be, and she did not need them drawing attention to her. She continued ahead taking the next fork in the road, past the tall thin houses along the canal on her right as she walked turned down a staircase that led to a door, the sign above read Two Moons. 

Elena knocked three times, paused then knocked another two times, and then four times. 

Honestly it was a bit ridiculous. 

The peephole in the door slid open and a ruddy face and dark eyes peered out at her. Elena pulled back her hood a bit so that her face was no longer in the shadows and nodded her head in acknowledgement. The peephole shut, she waited a moment before she heard the lock slide open and soon after that, the door. 

Inside the heat threatened to choke her and she quickly took off her cloak. Dim chandeliers lit the room and tables lined the far wall, across from the tables the entire room opened out onto a balcony that hung over the canal. The bar was on a back road, no one would see the opened doors or collection of people gathered. The musician stood on a gondola docked next to the club and the music floated up from the canal. A table of food was laid out on the bar.

Two Moons wad different, nothing like the city’s other bars that anyone was welcomed in. It wasn’t so much of a bar as it was a club, a place for anyone young and rich and specifically university students, to lose themselves for a night−or a couple by the looks of a few people inside. No, Two Moons only served the richest and wealthiest people of Elyria. It also had a reputation for scandalous parties and was usually filled with people looking to escape their boring lives and savor the delights of what Elyria had to offer.

This was her city.

Elena had spent most of her life trapped in the pages of books and when she wasn’t reading she was doing everything to feel something other than the numbness of daily life. 

Anything. 

Almost every other night, like now, she would go out and feel nothing, and dance and feel nothing, she would laugh and smile and flirt but feel nothing, sometimes she would cuss and yell and get into verbal sparring with whoever challenged her or was unlucky enough to piss her off, and then she would leave with her two closest things to friends−her undercover guards who were always assigned to watch after her, William and Elias−with her arms over their shoulders.

She would drink and feel invincible, floating between the arms of the gorgeous young men around her, but when the sun arose, like clockwork, she would remember who she was. 

What she was. 

It was horribly selfish and vain, but she didn’t care. Didn’t she deserve to be selfish? After all that she had been through? Who cared what she did anyways?

That was the irony of who Elena had become, she claimed she didn’t feel anything−she even told people nothing bothered her−but the truth was she felt everything. 

She felt it all. Too much.

Deep inside her was a roaring fire, one that could not be cooled or tamed. One needed to be careful around her, because if you stepped too close, you might just be burned by it. 

Elena straightened her back and stepped into the dim lighting. Every time Elena went out, she died her hair a different shade to keep her identity hidden from the drunken revellers and citizens around her. 

Because the citizens of Elyria had no idea that their beloved Princess was nothing more than a drunken coward the moment the sun set, running scared from her nightmares. 

Oh, the things they would call her had they known. 

A coward. 

Gods-damned.

Ruination.  
________ 

William and Elias had been chosen to join the guard as apprentices when they were ten years old. Proving that that they were the strongest of their age and class they were assigned to guard her at the king’s demand that it would be good for the three of them to become close, Elena knew his suggestion really meant he wanted to give her some people her own age to be around. Elena’s heart warmed at the thought, her father, the warmest kindest person she knew, always looking out for her, no matter how many times she screwed up, he still loved her. 

William and Elias were good men, only a year older then Elena herself. She had to admit, they took care of her, watched over her, supported her, even were members of her resistance group. They were protective and kind, most of time, but Elena didn’t know if that was because it was their job or because they were genuinely her friends. She didn’t know if she ever wanted to find out the answer. 

Elena got along with William the best out of the two of them. William was broken, like her, and his past was not so pretty. Together they made a pretty formidable pair, much to Elias’s chagrin. However, as much as they got along, to the same extent, half of the time they disagreed.

Elias was the wiser one; the rock where Elena was a burning flame and William was the ice. Elias kept the balance, kept the peace, and stopped her and Williams’s petty arguments and nasty grudges when they clashed heads. 

William was born along the borer, his village claimed by the terror of the border wars, his parents had sold him to the soldiers that settled in the village when he was six, hoping to get some sort of payout from the Western kingdom. They did not. It had left him with a nasty scar on his neck that ran down his shoulder and some burn marks on his back from when he managed to flee. 

She still remembered the way Elias had described the first time he saw him walking through the palace yards as Elias played in a tree. William, clothes torn, tear streaks running through the dirt on his face, emaciated, cheeks hallow. It made Elena sick to her stomach to think that a six-year-old had been treated that way. William arrived in the Elyria and walked up to the first city solider he had seen. 

When the solider spotted the orphan, with nothing but the clothes on his back, he took him to the barracks, cleaned him up, gave him food, new clothes, and let him sleep there that night and all the rest.

A few months later they put him in training and he met Elias. The two became thick as thieves and they have never looked back since. They became training partners and a pair, where one went, the other followed. Then later Elias’s parents had adopted him into their home. Elena knew Williams past was messy, he only mentioned it a total of three times in the years they had known each other, yet everyday he put on his charming smile, stood up straight, and acted as if he could no longer remember what had happened to him. She was almost jealous of his ability to move on.

She supposed that was why William had been one of the most hopeful prodigies to the kingdom; he was a warrior, he dedicated all his time to becoming better, stronger, maybe it was because he just wanted to spit in his parents face for abandoning him, maybe it was because he saw and experienced the abuse of the West firsthand, or because he was actually that good of a soldier. A natural born warrior. 

Elena didn’t know−she didn’t blame him if the earlier was the case, if anything she wished she could also spit in their faces. 

When she had been fifteen and William sixteen he had a crush on her, she knew he did, she saw how he always volunteered to go with her places and she saw Elias’s silent looks flick from him to her, but Will never said anything, always respecting that friendship between them.

A clear line drawn in the sand. 

But still, he danced with her and she never minded it, never stopped him because she didn’t know what to say.

However, on many nights, such as tonight, when they all had too much to drink, she would get lost on the dance floor with one of them late into the night, sometime both of them if Elias wasn’t brooding from the corner. Elena never stopped herself because it made her feel good and for a moment she could let herself believe it wasn’t her best friends she was dancing with but some boy who actually wanted to dance with her, giver her his attention, not because he had to because it was his job but because he wanted to. It felt good to be wanted.

For once.

Elena threw her cloak over a chair and walked up to the bar, searching for the heads she knew best in the crowd of strangers.

The music was pounding in her ears as she spotted them by the bar. They both already had a pintje of ale in their hands, their heads draw in to each other taking quietly. She came between the two of them and draped her arms around their shoulders, “Hello boys.” She sang cheerily, “Ready to get this underway.” She hugged them both as if it hadn’t been more than mere minutes since they had left her a block away outside the tavern.

“Took you long enough,” Elias whispered in her ear as he returned the hug in greeting, always the more rational one. “We were starting to get worried.” He finished. 

“Oh hush, I was fine. Stop worrying or you’ll die before you reach the age of thirty.” Elena said patting his shoulder, putting on the best careless, flirty act she could. He was dressed nicely tonight in a fine tunic and well-made pants, the dim candlelight making the golden brown of his hair glow and despite the dark circles under his eyes the color seemed to twinkle in the lighting. She stopped herself from laughing and clamped her lips together. If Elias ever found out that she just thought his eyes twinkled−ha!

“New look, milady?” A voice inquired to her left. Elena turned around and found he already had a smirk plastered on his lips. 

Figures. She pursed her lips.

They all played roles whenever they left the palace. William was the cunning and wicked one. His dark hair was unruly tonight and he was wearing an equally dark blue jacket with fine detailing, though she didn’t doubt that underneath that beautiful jacket was an arsenal of weaponry. What a gentlemen, tonight. She thought.  
Elias was the stoic one, and she was−

Elena wondered what role she played? She wasn’t sure, but she knew that if she were back at the palace she would never have the guts to acts this flirtatious and outright.

Elena threw him a grin of her own, tilting her head to the side. “Why yes, I guess it is.” She twisted a lock of her shoulder length dyed brown hair around her finger. 

Tonight, she had swept dark kohl across her eyes and darkened her lashes, as well as coloured her lips red. The colouring helped hide some of her natural paler features, like the brown of her eyes and how they really had golden flecks in the candle light.

There was a moment of silence as Elena looked around at the other partygoers. People were eating at the tables, others were standing by the balcony and talking but most were dancing in the center of the room. She turned back to Will, about to ask him to dance when she caught him admiring her. 

“Enjoying the view?” she purred. His gaze lifted and humor splayed on his lips. She threw him a look and pursed her lips together. Despite this, she looked down at her dress. She did look good tonight. She wore a fitted black lace dress that brushed the floor; it had sleeves and a singed waistline that had elegant gold embroidery and beads down the middle. She looked like a force to be reckoned with.

The music was pounding in Elena’s ears and she took the glass of champagne that someone offered her. Taking a sip, she decided the moon was full and the night was early, and she was ready to lose herself.  
________ 

She left the boys to talk at the counter and danced in the center of the room, not too far from their view, should they wish to join her. Her head spun, and she closed her eyes, savoring the moment. 

A young woman pulled her into a group of dancing girls and she lost track of them, caught up in the revelry.  
She spun with them and when she turned back out she stumbled and lost her balance, the alcohol finally getting to her head, she tripped over the length of her fine gown, giggling, and fell right into Williams arms.

She regained her composure; and looked up at his face, whatever he was thinking he kept hidden behind that unmovable mask of emotion.  
She stepped away and danced as she watched him, her movement a little more careful and a little more inviting. William frowned, she knew he would disapprove, but took her hand when she held it out to him. 

Will led her through the maze of bodies until they were at the back edge of the room. The tempo in the music increased, relentless, and she was helpless against the music’s pull. She tipped her head back and threw her arms around Williams neck. He swayed with her and something lit in her veins. 

Normally it would be a red flag, her magic getting too loose. Wanting out. But tonight she didn’t care. She didn’t care about anything.

William’s hand slid around her waist and she leaned into his touch. They stayed that way for a moment before he spun her around and then pulled her back in his arms, closer than before. The hard planes of his muscles pressing into Elena as he danced with her. 

She needed this. They both needed this. 

Elena lost all sense of self, it was like she had stepped out of her miserable body and was nothing but particles floating around the universe.

She rose and rose and rose. 

The room was getting hotter and the music became louder, relentless. 

Too loud, her head started to pound, an ache forming between her temples.

Elena opened her eyes, back in her body on the dance floor; she licked her lips and swallowed, trying to get rid of the awful taste in her mouth. 

Elena realized where she was. Her hand was on William’s back and the feel of his hands on her hips- she closed her eyes. He brushed his thumb against the back of the palm he held. It sent shivers down her spine.

Just forget. A voice whispered. Let it all out. She sighed as his he guided her feet.

Let it all out.

Elena let go abruptly, slid her hands behind her, finding the wall to hold onto as the world was very quickly sliding out from under her feet.

Let it all out.

Panic seized her, and her breathing came out in short erratic puffs, her vision tilted and shifted, something sparked and her head exploded in pain and her breath skipped a beat as the glasses in the room above the bar exploded, breaking into a million pieces. She let out a little gasp as William’s hand came up to cover her head, and he rotated them away, pressing her harder into the wall, his body coming over hers. Shielding her.

People screamed and the music stopped as the glass sprayed out, cutting Elena’s arm and showering down around the tables and people before her. 

When the maelstrom stopped, and people got up from their covered places on the floor, lifting their arms from their heads, she looked at the damage she had done. 

Tables had been flipped over; every glass in the club had been shattered. A woman to her left had a nasty cut on her cheek and blood was pouring from the wound, some people had glass in their backs and arms.

Without thinking, without turning around to look back at Elena, William grabbed her hand and pulled her with him. He tugged a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to the woman who cried out her thanks. Then he pulled Elena though the crowd of people staggering about and led her towards the bar where they had last seen Elias. Elena turned towards the entrance of the club, her eyes searching for his anxious face and brown hair, she saw him wave his arm, a silent, over here gesture. Elena pulled on Williams arm and he followed her without question. 

“Let’s go.” was all he said when they had reach Elias, handing Elena her cloak. Despite how calm his voice was she could see the panic in his eyes. Elena could feel the panic in her own body, feel her muscles tense with anxiety and alarm.

It was getting worse.


End file.
